At Least I'm Not Bored
by Olivia94
Summary: Shawn takes on a cop-killing case with Lassie and Juliet while Gus and Henry are out of town. This case is personal. But when the investigations go south, Shawn and Juliet are taken captive. Shules! :D
1. Boredom

A/N -Ok guys so this is my first fanfic ever. So please keep the bashing to a minimum. I like constructive criticism though. Please read and review. Thanks :D

Disclaimer- Unfortunately I do not own Psych or any of the characters

* * *

Shawn was bored. Unbelievably, painfully bored. It was bad enough that Abigail had broken up with him last week, now Gus had a pharmaceutical conference in Nebraska? _What is that about? Why not California, New York or Hawaii? Its not like they sell corn! I mean, come on people. _Shawn thought bitterly.

And Abigail. Shawn sighed and walked over to his desk. He plopped down in his chair, resting he head on his chin. The truth was that he wasn't all that upset. Sure it hurt a little when she dumped him. Telling him he was too 'immature' or 'irresponsible'. But Shawn knew that his heart wasn't in the relationship. He had a certain blonde detective on his mind. Shawn stood up abruptly and started pacing. _I don't get it. I really don't get it. What is it about her that makes me feel this way? Guess it could be the way she laughs. I love it when she laughs. Or maybe the way her smile lights up any room, no matter what else is going on. Or maybe—_Shawn shook his head, hoping that it would clear his thoughts about Juliet. It didn't work.

_Oh God I'm going to regret this _Shawn thought as he picked up his metallic red phone and dialed a familiar number. After a few rings it went to voice mail.

"Hello, you've reached Henry Spencer—"

Shawn hung up the phone with a little more force that was necessary.

"I AM SO BORED!!!" Shawn yelled to the roof. He didn't know exactly what he planned to do if his dad picked up the phone. He just needed something to take his mind off of Juliet. Shawn shook his head again and resumed his pacing. _Oh yeah, this is the weekend. The one that dad has been talking about for like a decade. _Henry Spencer was currently on Maui at some huge fishing competition. _The Blue Boat Marlin Extravaganza. Or something. Wait, or was it clownfish? No it can't be clownfish. Was it a marlin named Clownfish or a clownfish named Marlin? Definitely a clownfish named Marlin. Okay, so a marlin-catching competition. Oh Lord, I'm thinking about fish! What has this man done to me!! _Shawn went back to his desk and plopped his head down on the wood in a dramatic fashion.

After about three seconds his phone rang. Shawn dove across the desk and grabbed it. He took a second to compose himself before answering, realizing that it could be a client.

"Hello, you have reached Psych Investigations. Shawn Spencer speaking, how may I help you?" Shawn said in the most mystical voice he could.

"Lassie! How are you buddy?... What was that? You need my help on a case? But I thought that you were 'up to here with my ridiculous antics' " Shawn mocked. "But don't worry Lassie, I'm here for you. I'll be there faster than you can say 'strawberry tapioca'." Shawn hung up and grabbed his motorcycle helmet as he ran out the door.

Maybe this day wouldn't be so boring after all.


	2. Family

A/N- So I do realize that this is the second chapter that I've published today, but I have to go back to school tomorrow so I'm trying to get as much as I can done before my torture continues. I know that this chapter is a smidge on the serious side. I'm going to do my best to make them funny in the time to come. Just so you know, I don't expect to be making many 80s references seeing as I wasn't alive in the 80s… Please review! I love writing these but I don't want to waste my time if no one is reading them! :D

Disclaimer- Unfortunately I have not gained control over Psych in the last few hours since I wrote the first chapter.

Carlton Lassiter had been waiting outside the Santa Barbra Police Department for twenty-five minutes when Shawn finally arrived carrying a pineapple smoothie.

"Spencer!" He barked, "What took you so long?"

Shawn stopped halfway up the staircase and looked at Lassiter exasperatedly.

"Oh Lassie. And you call yourself a detective. " Shawn continued walking up the stairs. "Clearly I stopped to get a deliciously flavored smoothie. Pineapple to be exact. I don't know if you knew this, but I am rather fond of pineapple."

Lassiter looked at him incredulously. "I was under the impression that you were going to get here quickly."

"My friend, I believe my exact words were 'I'll be there faster that you can say strawberry tapioca'."

"So…"

"So have you said 'strawberry tapioca' yet?" Lassiter looked at him angrily. "Then I was right".

Lassiter took a moment to compose himself before he responded "Look you here, Spencer. As much as I hate it, we really do need your help on this case. We're dealing with a cop killer. We don't have time for your childish impulses okay?"

"Whatever you say Lassie. So you wanna fill me in here?" Shawn and Lassiter began walking towards Lassiter and Juliet's desks as Lassiter explained.

"A few months ago a 27 year old man was found dead of a morphine OD. After doing a little digging, I found out that six different hospitals in Santa Barbra and surrounding cities have been broken into. Morphine, anesthetics—all different kinds of drugs had been stolen. The man that was doing this sold the drugs to people who wanted to kill themselves by overdosing."

"A more painless way to commit suicide." Shawn said.

"Exactly." Lassiter continued, "At the time that all this was discovered, there had already been nine deaths. The thing that set this kid, the 27 year old, apart was that there were clear signs of a struggle. Someone had purchased these drugs in order to kill him. We were able to find the man and arrest him."

Shawn and Lassiter stopped walking as they reached the desks

"That's great! What exactly do you need me for?" Shawn questioned.

"Would you shut up and let me finish?" Lassiter waited until he knew that Shawn would be quiet before he continued. "We had the perp under lock and key. We were processing the evidence before the trial. The suspect, named Kyle Stark had agreed to turn in the man that sold him the drugs. Said his name was 'Robert Madison'. The day after he was locked up, however, Stark along with the cop guarding him were found dead. Stark in the cell, the guard right outside. We believe that this Kevorkian character snuck in and killed both men. Ever since the murders, the guy has dropped off the radar. No more robberies, no more deaths, nothing."

Shawn nodded. He understood now why Lassiter was so on edge. Shawn knew from growing up around a cop that when a case involved the death of one, the police took it personally.

FLASHBACK

_1989_

_Shawn had just settled down on the comfortable couch in his living room with an ice cold coca-cola when his dad barged into the house, slamming the door behind him._

"_Dad?" Shawn asked. It was 9:30 on a Saturday night—his father should have been home hours ago. His dad had walked straight into the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge. "Where were you?" seeing the exhausted look on his dad's face he adds "Are you okay?"_

_Henry Spencer turned his weary eyes on his eleven-year-old son. "Yes, son. I'm fine" Henry saw the doubtful look on his son's face as soon as the words escaped his lips. _Why did I have to teach this kid to be so freaking perceptive? _He thought. "I was down at the station."_

"_This late? Why? What happened?"_

_Henry loved his son, but he really needed to learn how to give people space. "Ok Shawn." Henry motioned to his son to take a seat at the table. "Today we lost one of our own." The older Spencer saw a flicker of sadness in Shawn's eyes and continued. "Do you remember Officer McCoy? Real nice guy, great cop. He was gunned down on a standard traffic stop this morning. Most of the department has been working on finding the monster that did this. After working all day, we finally found him. Listen to me Shawn. One day when you're an officer, you'll understand this more. When a fellow officer is killed, you've just lost part of your family. You work with these guys every day. You go into situations without knowing whether you're going to come out. So Shawn, I'm not okay. I've just lost part of my family"_

END FLASHBACK

"So what you're saying is that you want me to hunt down the man who murdered one of our own." Shawn said.

Lassiter was shocked that Shawn had grasped the concept without making some obscure 80s reference or attempting to make Lassiter want to call the dealer up just to kill himself. "Yes… What's wrong with you Spencer." Shawn had an angry look on his face. It seemed like he wanted to hit something. His fists were clenched and his eyes were like daggers. He didn't even notice Juliet O'Hara walk up to join the conversation.

Shawn lifted his eyes to meet Lassiter's "Look Lassie, I'm going to do whatever I have to in order to find the sick SOB who did this."

"Wow Shawn, I didn't know that you were capable of being this serious." Juliet said.

Shawn whipped around, seeing Juliet for the first time. Just seeing her cheered him up considerably. "Jules! Didn't see you there." Shawn scratched the back of his head uncomfortably. He hated that Juliet had to see him so angry. It took a lot to get Shawn angry and he could see the surprise on Juliet's face. " Ha! Me serious? Good one. " Shawn turned back to Lassiter.

Juliet wasn't going to give up that easily. "Shawn, there's nothing wrong with you being upset. We're all a little off after Officer Adlam's death."

Shawn turned to face her "Who did you say?"

"Officer Aldam. He's been at the department for years and years. Was planning on retiring in a month actually." Juliet said sadly.

Shawn sat down at the nearest desk and put his face in his hands.

"Shawn? Shawn are you alright?" Juliet asked tentatively.

Shawn took a moment to answer. He looked up and made eye contact with Juliet before explaining. "Officer Matthew Aldam was my father's partner. He was like an uncle to me. I am going to catch the man who did this if it is the last thing I do."

Ok, now is the part where you review. Please and thank you :D


	3. I hate love

A/N- Ok guys here is chapter three. I know that it's really short, but I think that it should be its own chapter. This chapter is about what Juliet thinks about Shawn. Originally when I started writing this story, I just wanted to do a cute little story about Shawn and Juliet, the most perfect couple ever. But, I just had to find a way to set up the whole thing because I'm OCD like that. FYI Italics are thoughts.

Disclaimer- I still don't own Psych. All in good time my friends

Right after Shawn revealed his connection to the murdered policeman, he went and locked himself in the restroom, mumbling about how pineapple smoothies went right through him. He'd been in there for ten minutes. Juliet was worried. She silently cursed herself. _I know his father was a cop. I know how long Aldam has worked here. Why didn't I take a second to consider the idea that Shawn might have known him? Stupid! Stupid. _Deep down Juliet knew that this wasn't her fault. Shawn would have found out who was killed whether she told him or not.

But Juliet tends to be a bit unreasonable where Shawn is concerned. _Oh God I hate this. I hate the way he makes me feel. No that's a lie, I love it. No I hate it…no I love it…no I—_Juliet groaned and sank into her desk chair. She didn't know how she felt. She was so confused.

At first Shawn annoyed her. Then she grew to like him. She really really liked him. And then she had to go off and blow it. _He was standing there right in front of me! He had two drinks! Two! He tried to stop me! How could I possibly not realize that he was on a date? Why'd I have to tell him that I cared about him? Why'd I have to tell him that I wanted to be with him? _After Shawn rejected her, she hated him. She wanted to cry and scream. She wanted to run. But she knew that if she left, if she wasn't near him, she'd hate it even more that she hated him. She hated him for making her love him. _Stop it O'Hara! You don't love him! You're just…confused. _

Juliet laid her head down on her desk, not caring how unprofessional she looked. _I'm a reasonable person. I don't just… fall in love. Not when I haven't even dated the guy. We're friends. Maybe I'm just not used to having friends who are guys. Maybe I'm just mistaking some other emotion for love. _Juliet propped her head up on her chin. She sighed. She knew that that wasn't right. She knew that she wasn't mistaken. She blew at a stray hair that had escaped her bun and fallen into her face. Juliet looked strangely like a grumpy teenager when she did this. _I hate love_. Juliet thought. _I love Shawn._

PLEASE REVIEW. I live for reviews. Not kidding, I looked at my computer, saw that I had a good review, and then got happy to the point of being giddy. I grabbed my laptop and wrote this chapter. REVIEWS PEOPLE. Please and thanks :D.


	4. I'm going to find him

A/N- Okay guys, here's chapter four. I'm cranking these things out as fast as I can. Something that I just noticed was that I accidently gave Henry's partner two different names. Adlam and Aldam. The right name is Aldam. Its not really a big deal, I just thought I'd clarify. Hope you enjoy. DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW. Thanks :D.

OooOooO

Shawn splashed cold water on his face. He gripped the edge of the solitary sink so hard that his knuckles turned white. _Calm down Shawn. You're not going to do anyone any good in this state. _Shawn looked up at his reflection in the mirror for just a moment, and then looked back down at the ground. He was so ashamed of himself for basically breaking down in the middle of the office. Shawn shook his head. _Ok, breaking down might be a little dramatic. I just got mad. Madder than I have been in a long time. I'm definitely breaking down right now though. Come on Shawn! Keep it together. _Shawn took a ragged breath in through his nose, out through his mouth. _Okay, you know what to do. Keep it cool. Just like usual. _Shawn stood up and walked out of the restroom, past the ridiculously long line that had formed outside of the single-stall restroom.

"Sorry guys. You'd think that I would have learned to stop getting the four-bean burrito for lunch by now. Oh well. My dad always said I was a slow learner."

The next man in line suddenly looked dubious about using the recently vacated stall.

OooOooO

Shawn happened to walk into the main office right as Juliet blew her hair out of her face.

"Hey Jules! You okay? What did you not make the cheerleading team?"

Juliet was brought back to Earth when she heard Shawn's voice.

"Wha-- ? No, no I'm fine. Are you okay Shawn? You looked pretty upset."

"Happy as a hedgehog sunbathing in the Galapagos. How 'bout you? Wait we already did you…"

Juliet took a minute to consider Shawn. In all honesty he looked like he was back to normal. But something was different. _I just can't put my finger on it but it's something… _Shawn made eye contact with Juliet for less than a second before he turned to pester Lassiter. _That's it! _His eyes. They were usually so playful and warm. Now his eyes were darkened. It seemed as if nearly all traces of green in his hazel eyes were gone, leaving a deep murky brown color behind. In his eyes Juliet could see the pain and anger that he was masking with humor and immaturity.

"So anyways," Shawn's voice once again brought her back to the present "I figure I need to see both the crime scene and the bodies of both victims. Which shall we go to first, my dear Lassiter?" Shawn was clearly trying (and failing) to do a Sherlock Holmes impression. The only reaction he got was blank stares. "Come on people! Sherlock Holmes? Basil Rathbone? Maybe a little Robert Downey Jr.? No? Wow tough office…" The nearby officers, used to Shawn's antics by now, continued their work like he had never said anything.

Juliet decided to speak up and save Shawn from further humiliation. "Well Shawn, both bodies are here at the station. But are you sure you want to see them?"

"Oh come on Jules. I'm not Gus. I've seen a dead body before and as a bonus, I don't have to resort to Lamaze breathing."

Shawn looked Juliet straight in the eye. What she saw there shocked her. _Pleading… Is he actually begging me? _Juliet silently berated herself. _Nice going Jules. Clearly he's putting up a goofy front to hide from what he's feeling. Just go with it O'Hara. _Juliet nodded. "You know what you're right. Come on this way."

OooOooO

Shawn was relatively certain that the morgue was the most depressing place he's ever been in. As Shawn, Juliet and Lassiter descended the steps leading to the medical examiner's workplace, a couple in their mid-fifties began walking back to the main office. The man had an arm around the woman, who was crying. The man seemed to be just holding back tears.

"They're leaving the identification room…" Juliet breathed.

"Wow" Shawn stopped on the step he was on. He raised is right hand to his head, closing his eyes as if he was concentrating. "Mystic River flashback. That would make" Shawn indicated the couple right as the exited the stairwell "him Shawn Penn and her Laura Linney"

Juliet and Lassiter wisely chose to ignore his insensitive remark.

When they entered the room where the bodies were kept, Lassiter immediately headed for the far wall. The entire wall was covered in large metal drawers. Shawn swallowed hard. He knew that the corpses of people from all different walks of life were kept in those drawers.

It took Lassiter a moment before he located the appropriate drawer. He pulled at the handle and Shawn saw the dead body of Kyle Stark. The criminal's body was covered in numerous lacerations. He took a moment to assess the body. The stab wounds all seemed consistent. He could see which had been fatal: a stab straight into the heart. The marks left were about an inch. There didn't seem to be a sign of a struggle. _Probably snuck up on him while he was asleep._ The wounds were deep and clean. _Okay, so the guy's got some strength. _

"Ok, I need to see the other body." Both Lassiter and Juliet turned to look at him doubtfully. "Really guys I'm fine. Do you have any idea how thick that metal is? Everything I hear and feel from the victim's spirit is all muffled."

Lassiter sighed and pulled out Matthew Aldam's body. As much as he didn't want to, Shawn forced himself to look.

_Okay Shawn, just another body, don't think of who it is and you'll be fine. _

Shawn swallowed again. _Let's see what we have here… the Victim has suffered from multiple stab wounds. Approximately an inch and a half… the tear seems consistent with a two-sided blade. But wait, what is this… one of the wounds is different. It seems to be smaller. About an inch. Its much deeper than the others… in fact all the others seem shallower… almost hesitant, like the suspect was forced to…_

All this ran through Shawn's mind in about ten seconds.

"Okay, I'm done here. Now to the crime scene!"

"Seriously? That's it? You've got to be kidding me. There's no way you could've already gotten everything you need." Said a cynical Lassiter.

"Lassie, I don't kid. Ever." Shawn turned on his heel and made his way back up to the body of the station.

OooOooO

The cell where Kyle Stark was kept was taped off from the rest of the facility. There were two chalk outlines on the floor, indicating that something awful had happened there.

"Yes! I've always wondered if they actually did this!" Shawn ran into the cell and squatted down by the chalk outline of Kyle.

"Shawn, you've been to crime scenes dozens of times. How could you not know that they outlined the bodies?"

"Oh Jules. You naive little lemon pop"—this was met with a raised eyebrow from both detectives—"I'm at crime scenes while the bodies are still there, not after the fact." Shawn proceeded to lie down; lining himself up as well as he could with the chalk lines. He closed his eyes and let his head fall limply to the side.

"Come on Spencer we don't have time for this!" Lassiter yelled.

"You know what I say? I say nay Lassie! Its only 2:30 and I don't have another appointment until…" Shawn consulted his watch "Next week.

"That may be the case Shawn, but Lassiter and I actually do have other cases to solve."

Shawn popped up from his position on the floor. "Ok fine." Shawn started to look around. Then he saw something. A thin layer of sand. Hardly noticeable. When Juliet and Lassiter where both looking away, he bent down and got some on his fingers. _Hmm. This is strange. The sand feels… processed almost. Not grainy, smooth. _Shawn looked and saw evidence of multiple different shoeprints. He had enough to have a "psychic outbreak".

"Oh! Oh! I'm getting something!!" Shawn stuck his arms out, parallel to the ground, eyes squeezed shut. He then proceeded to jerk from left to right, as if caught on a string. He stuck up all ten fingers. Then six. Three. Five. Two. One. He finally landed two. "I'm sensing more than one man. Maybe two. Maybe four. The spirits are unclear. But oh! Wait. I'm getting women. Lots of women. Mistresses. The jungle. Cats. Large cats. Tigers! Tiger Woods! GOLF! GOLF COURSE!!" Shawn mocked hitting a drive then spun in a complete circle on his toes. He collapsed into a heap on the floor, panting.

"Okkk" Juliet was a little startled by his sudden outburst. "So we've got more than one man, and something to do with a golf course… Where does that leave us?"

" Not just any golf course. A really nice one. One you'd find at a country club. At least one of these men spends a lot of time at a country club golf course. He probably works there." Shawn explained.

"And there's only one country club in Santa Barbra. Whispering Pines. Well at least now we have somewhere to start." Juliet said excitedly.

Lassiter stepped in. "Okay O'Hara and I are going to go dig up everything we can about the golf staff at Whispering Pines. Find out if anyone has a criminal record and start there. Spencer, you go do… whatever it is you do…"

With that Lassiter and O'Hara left the crime scene and made their way to their car. Shawn looked down at chalk outline that marked where Matthew Aldam's body was found. "I'm getting closer. I'm going to find him Matt, I promise."

OooOooO

Okay guys, now you review! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!! So far only two different people have reviewed. The two most AWESOME people ever, might I say! Come on people! I need to know that more than two people are reading !!


	5. The Wienerschnitzels

A/N- Hey guys! I'm sorry this took so long to post! It's just that apparently, in the state of Texas, writing fan fiction is not an acceptable excuse for not finishing homework. Yes I know it's stupid. Not to worry though. As we speak, a petition is circulating my high school.

Disclaimer- I do not own Psych at this point in time. I wish.

OooOooO

"Ok Shawn," Juliet began as she walked through the doors of the Psych office "We ran background checks on all of the employees at Whispering Pines. One man, Michael Payton, stands out. He was charged with aggravated assault in 2006. It also turns out that the overdose victim was a member of the club. He had private lessons with Payton once a week."

Shawn was sitting on his desk in a meditative stance. He didn't respond. Shawn was pretending to do something productive because it drove him crazy that he was at the point in the investigation where he _couldn't_do anything productive. The research, running names—that kind of stuff was police stuff. He just didn't have the resources.

"Shawn?" Juliet walked up in front of him, barely two feet away. She waved a hand in front of his face. Shawn's eyes snapped open, gazing into the distance, and his hand shot out, grabbing Juliet's wrist. After five whole seconds he relaxed, releasing her wrist. His eyes softened and he looked straight at her.

"Hey Jules! What's up?" Shawn asked cheerfully.

Juliet was still a little taken aback at his outburst. "Ummm. Yeah… Anyways I ran background checks-"

"Yeah yeah. Michael Payton. I got that. So he's their golf pro, right?"

Juliet looked shocked "Yeah. How did you know?"

Shawn just bowed his head and shook it slowly. "Oh Jules. Jules, Jules, Jules. If you ask me that one more time, there is a serious chance that I am going to go Casey Kasem on you." Shawn pointed his thumbs at himself "Psychic, remember?"

Juliet just nodded her head and continued, once again not understanding his obscure 80s reference "The chief is sending Carlton and I undercover as a husband and wife trying to join the club."

"Sweet! I call Andrew. You can be Claire. I guess Lassie can be Brian. That makes me Emilio Estevez, you Molly Ringwald and Lassie Anthony Michael Hall. That does mean that you two were dating though, and I'm not so sure about that…"

"The _Country_ Club, Shawn. Whispering Pines. We would just go in and apprehend the guy, but we're afraid that that will just scare off his partners. One gets caught, the others make a break for it." Juliet said, dismissing Shawn's comments.

All Shawn cared about was the 'Carlton and I' part. This was his case. He wanted to be the one going undercover. He needed to be. For Matthew. "You and Lassie? I don't think so." Shawn picked up his phone and started dialing, Juliet watched him in confusion. "Chief! This is Shawn Spencer. Look I think that sending Lassie and Juliet in undercover is a mistake…" Juliet turned an accusing look to Shawn.

"Shawn! What are you--"?

Shawn held up a finger, trying to listen to the chief on the other end.

"No, no chief. I'm not questioning the competency of your detectives. What I mean is that I should go. Not Lassie." Juliet's look changed from anger to surprise. "Well I'll tell you why chief. I can go in and psychically read Payton. Where Lassie can only guess I can tell you what's true…….Come on chief! You know that I'm right…….Great! I'll talk to Jules about the details."

Shawn ended the call and turned to face Juliet, excitement in his eyes.

"Lassiter is going to kill you, you know that?" Juliet said, amused.

"Oh, he'll get over it." Shawn smiled and Juliet couldn't help it when the corners of her mouth curved upward.

OooOooO

Michael Payton sat behind his desk, staring blankly at the paperwork in front of him. He knew that he had to have all of it done by this afternoon, but he had more pressing issues to deal with. He had killed someone. Not just anyone. A cop. Michael wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. This was no time for him to lose it. He had to keep it cool. No one had any reason to suspect a thing.

Michael thought back to how he'd gotten into this situation. Oh, why'd he have to gamble? It was an addiction. He couldn't stop. He just kept thinking: _Ok. This time I'll win. Don't worry just bet more. You'll win more in the long run. _He never won anything. Before he knew it, he was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. It was time to pay up. Payton groaned and put his face in his hands. He didn't want to kill that man. _Better him than me. _Payton thought. If he hadn't killed the cop, he'd have been killed as payment.

But now he was in too deep. He couldn't get out. If he tried to back out, his accomplices would turn him in or kill him. He had no choice but to continue on with Robert Madison as his superior.

Lost in thought, Michael Payton didn't notice assistant come in.

"Mr. Payton, your 3:00 meeting with perspective members is here."

Shocked, Payton's head snapped up from their cradle in his hands "Oh yes, yes. Thank you, Isabelle. Send them in."

A few moments later, a couple in their late twenties to early thirties walked into his office. The man was wearing a dark grey button up the front shirt patterned with narrow stripes in a darker grey running vertically up and down the shirt. He was wearing black slacks and nice dress shoes. His hair was nicely combed back. His hazel eyes were piercing. He seemed to see everything. Confidence seemed to radiate from him

The woman was as confident as her husband. She walked in, head held high. Her golden hair hung loosely down her back, held out of her face by a plain black headband. She wore a simple, dark blue dress that reached her knees. The sleeves reached to right above her elbow where a piece of elastic secured them. Both the man and the woman took their seats in the armchairs in front of Michael Payton's desk.

OooOooO

Shawn sat down in a seat in front of the well-polished wooden desk and surveyed the man in front of him. Michael Payton looked exhausted. He had bags under his eyes. Shawn noticed how his right hand was constantly grabbing an object from the desk, playing with it for a few seconds, and then exchanging it for something different. _Nervous energy _Shawn thought.

The golf pro stood up and shook both his and Juliet's hands. "Hello sir and madam and welcome to the Whispering Pines country club. My name is Michael Payton. I am the resident golf pro here. It's very nice to have you in here today Mr…"

"Wienerschnitzel." Shawn said "Damien and Matilda Wienerschnitzel. It is very nice to meet you Mr. Payton." Shawn noticed Juliet reacting to the absurd name he had chosen this time. Luckily her reaction went unnoticed by Payton.

"Likewise" Michael returned to his seat. "So, may I ask you what caused you to consider joining us here at Whispering Pines?"

It was Juliet who answered. "Of course. Well, you see, we just got married a month ago." Shawn looked at her adoringly. "We just thought that this would be a good way to start our lives together."

_Okay Jules _Shawn thought _you've got to stop now. This is overkill. _However, Michael Payton seemed to buy it.

"Well I can assure you that Whispering Pines is a great place for a family. Now, if you wouldn't mind answering a few more questions..."

Payton proceeded to ask Shawn and Juliet several more questions regarding their financial stability, plans for children and their expected involvement with the club.

"Well Mr. and Mrs. Wienerschnitzel, I think that you would be a lovely addition to our country club—" Payton began.

"If you wouldn't mind Mr. Payton, there is one thing that has been a concern for me." Shawn interrupted.

"Well of course. What is bothering you?"

"Matilda and I heard about the young man who was killed here." Shawn began, seeing a slight reaction from Payton. "We just want to make sure that this establishment is safe. For all of the future Wienerschnitzels."

Payton swallowed hard and tried to smile. "I can assure you that Whispering Pines is 100% safe."

Shawn saw how his eyes dilated. He knew that that was a sign of guilt. He noticed Payton's right hand was curled into a tight fist and his left was digging into the wood of his desk. Shawn knew that Payton knew something. He was tense and nervous. He had seen what he needed to see. Now it was time to leave a put the pieces of the puzzle together.

OooOooO

Neither Shawn nor Juliet noticed the man watching them as they left Michael Payton's office.

Robert Madison was sitting in an armchair in the lounging area, pretending to read the paper. The man seemed familiar to him but he couldn't place him. Madison jumped when he felt his phone vibrate.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Madison" it was Payton. "The couple that just came in here just asked about that kid who died from an OD. Connections are already being made! What am I going to do?"

Panic was evident in Payton's voice. Suddenly Madison realized who the man was. He was the psychic who worked with the SBPD. He'd been in the news multiple times. He must have been sent in to see if Payton was involved. _How did they figure it out?! _Madison thought. They had been so careful. One thing that Robert Madison knew, though, was if the psychic turned in Payton, he wouldn't be far behind. He had to stop him.

Madison raised the phone to his ear and responded to Payton. "We have a problem. Don't worry. I'll have my men take care of it."

OooOooO

Yay! Now we're getting to the good stuff. This chappie was a lot longer than the others. Which do you like better: lots of short chapters that come out quickly, or a few long chapters that take longer? Review and tell me! PLEASE REVIEW! I've gotten quite a few lately and they make me SO HAPPY!!!! Keep it up guys! :D


	6. One five hour drive later

**A/N-Hehe. I just realized that in the first chapter I wrote "****He plopped down in his chair, resting he head on his chin." Whoops. That would be kind of hard to do, wouldn't it? It was supposed to be 'Resting his chin on his hand." My bad :D.**

**Okie doke, chapter six. Enjoy. Read and Review!! **

**Disclaimer- Psych=not mine :'(**

OooOooO

The meeting lasted for an hour and fifteen minutes. The drive home was two hours and twenty-seven minutes. That is, before the traffic jam on the freeway. And before Shawn got lost. Twice. So a two-and-a-half hour drive turned into a five-hour drive. It was cold, rainy, their gas tank was almost empty, and Juliet was not happy.

"This'll just take a second." Shawn said as he steered the car up to a gas pump. Juliet was just happy that they found one. They were in the middle of nowhere so she was worried that they'd be abandoned with no cell phone service.

The gas station almost seemed to be abandoned. There were six pumps, only one of them working. There was a small shop adjacent the pumps where you could pay cash for the gas or buy snacks. Trees surrounded the station on one side, the road on the other. Two cars sat in the tiny parking lot in front of the store: one belonging to a worker, one to a customer, Shawn assumed.

Shawn climbed out of the car began to fill it with gas. When it was ¾ of the way full, he stopped the pump and swiped his credit card. From inside the car, Juliet could see Shawn having some difficulty getting the machine to work. She got out of the car to see what was wrong.

"Having some trouble?" She questioned, thoroughly entertained by Shawn's frustration.

"Yeah this stupid credit card thingy isn't working. I'm going to have to pay inside." Shawn turned and saw Juliet outside the car, shivering from the cold and getting wet. "I'll go in real quick, Jules. You can wait in the car. You're freezing."

Juliet smiled her thanks and got back into the department issued car. Shawn made his way into the small building.

Inside, Shawn saw that the store was empty except for an old Korean man who sat behind the counter. The man looked extremely bored. _Hmmm. That's weird. There are two cars outside and only one person inside… _Shawn dismissed the thought as soon as he saw the giant slushy machine in the corner.

OooOooO

Shawn exited the store five minutes later holding an extra large grape slushy. A few feet out, he thought he heard something. Shawn stopped abruptly then turned, looking behind him. He didn't see anyone. _Calm down man! You're losing it. You're just tired. _Shawn continued to make his way towards the car.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, Shawn felt the painful impact of a knee being forced at his abdomen. Shawn doubled over in pain, slushy flying out of his grasp. His attacker took advantage of his reflex to bend over by striking him again, kicking his knee up to hit Shawn in the nose. A pair of hands grabbed Shawn from behind. He kicked wildly but couldn't fend off his two attackers. While the two held Shawn, he felt a fist connect with his stomach. He cried out in pain, tears springing to his eyes. Make that three attackers.

Out of his blurred vision, Shawn could see Juliet jumping out of the car, gun in hand.

"No Jules! Run! Get out of here! GO!" Shawn screamed pleadingly, knowing that Juliet would never leave him to fend for himself. Shawn saw the attacker on his right pull out a gun. Next thing he knew, he heard a loud crack and the world went black.

OooOooO

Juliet watched in horror as she saw three men come from nowhere and attack Shawn. Already his nose was bleeding, probably broken. Her cop instincts took over and she grabbed her gun and leapt out of the car.

She heard Shawn screaming for her to run, but she couldn't. If she didn't do anything, they could kill him. One of the men next to Shawn pulled out a gun and pistol-whipped him. Even from a distance she saw Shawn slump in unconsciousness.

"SBPD drop your weapon!" She yelled, wishing her voice wasn't so shaky.

The man with the gun turned it and pointed it at Shawn. Another man pulled out a gun a pointed it at Juliet.

"No. You drop your weapon, or your friend here will have to be scraped off this parking lot."

Juliet looked at him, and then looked at Shawn. Feeling helpless, she lowered her weapon.

OooOooO

**Dun dun dun!! What's going to happen? Will they live? Will they die? I can't wait to find out! Oh wait. I already know! PLEASE REVIEW PEOPLE!! You could be saving Shawn and Juliet's lives. Please and thanks :D **


	7. Finding Safety in Darkness

**Here you go, my friends. Chapter 7. This chapter is really just a bridge between the last and the next. I'm going to try and post the next before the weekend ends, but I make no promises. **

**Just a few things. First, I love Juliet, but she seems to be a little bit of a wimp sometimes. I mean sometimes she's all tough; sometimes she's all wimpy. In this she's kind of halfway. Like, semi-wimpy. And to answer**** JuliaB'****s question: Yes. There will definitely be more Shules. It's just that I'm doing my best to keep it true to the show. I don't want them falling all over each other the second that they are alone because I feel like that wouldn't happen in the real show. But bear with me. We will get there. :D**

**Disclaimer: Psych still isn't mine **** Work in progress.**

**OooOooO**

Juliet sat with her back pressed up against the cool metal of the truck. After she had dropped her gun, she and Shawn's hands were tied behind their backs. They were gagged and blindfolded. She was then forcefully put into the back of a large, unmarked, white van. Shawn, still unconscious, was thrown in after her like a sack of potatoes.

Juliet shifted her position. _God it's hard to get into a comfortable position with your hands tied behind your back. _She then had a stroke of inspiration. _Of course! Why didn't I do this before? Stupid! _Juliet scooted forward, away from the wall. She forced her hands down into the bottom of the van while simultaneously lifting herself up. She wiggled herself backwards, in between her arms, until her bound wrists were at the crook in her knees. She bent her legs, one at a time, and slid her feet through as well, bringing her hands in front of her. _Okay, that wasn't too hard. _Juliet then proceeded to take out her gag, and then take off her blindfold.

She squinted. _I did take off my blindfold, didn't I? _The back of the van was pitch black-- An all-consuming darkness that seemed to creep in and swallow her whole.

"Shawn?" She said hesitantly.

Very few things scared Detective Juliet O'Hara. Darkness was definitely one of them. She knew it was stupid and juvenile. _Its just darkness. _As much as she tried to reassure herself, Juliet still started shaking. She could feel the fear creeping up her throat, making her want to vomit. _Come on O'Hara! Get a grip!_

"Shawn?" She said again, wishing her voice wasn't shaking.

Juliet felt for the wall. When she found it, she began making her way around the perimeter of the van, feeling for Shawn. Just then, the moving van hit a sizeable pothole. Juliet crashed down from her position on one knee and landed on something soft.

"Shawn? Is that you?" She asked.

O'Hara reached out and felt an arm. She felt around until she found his face. Juliet pulled out the gag that had been forced into Shawn's mouth. She shook his shoulders, gently at first, then vigorously.

"Shawn! Wake up! Come on, you've got to wake up!"

OooOooO

Shawn heard his name from what seemed like a million miles away. He wanted to open his eyes. He wanted to say something.

"Jules?" He said groggily.

That was all he could get out at the moment. He tried to prop himself up on his elbows but just fell back into a heap in the van. Shawn realized for the first time that his hands were tied behind his back, making that near impossible. He was dizzy and his head hurt. _God_ his head hurt. Did someone just slam something hard into his head or something? _Oh wait… _

Everything that had just happened came back to him at once. He was jumped, and then Jules got out of the car. And then… nothing. Nothing at all. Shawn couldn't remember anything after that.

"Jules where are we? What happened?" Shawn wished his voice didn't sound so whiny. He couldn't think straight due to the excruciating pain emanating from behind his right ear.

"One of those thugs pistol-whipped you. We're in the back of a van. Shawn, I don't know where we're going. I don't know where they're taking us."

Shawn could hear the panic in Juliet's voice.

"It's okay. Just calm down Jules. We'll figure something out."

Shawn finally managed to open his eyes. That is when he started panicking. He couldn't see. He couldn't see anything.

"Jules" Shawn began calmly, keeping his voice under control. "I can't see."

Shawn felt Juliet's warm, soft hands on his face for a moment. She pulled off his blindfold.

"It won't make much difference. You can't see anything in this darkness."

Shawn felt his speeding pulse slow. For a moment he had, perhaps irrationally, thought that he had gone blind. Even the thought of himself going blind was too much for Shawn to handle. His life, his gift, everything he had depended on his ability to see. "Thanks Jules."

OooOooO

Juliet was so happy when Shawn finally woke up. He was always so calm. So sure. He made her feel safe. Juliet saw Shawn wiggling like a dead fish, hands behind his back, trying to get into a more comfortable position. She helped him get into a sitting position, leaning against the wall.

Juliet sat beside him, closer than was necessary. The feeling of another warm body next to her brought her crippling fear down a notch. She rested her head on Shawn's shoulder. Shawn rested his chin on top of her head.

"Don't worry Jules, we'll be okay."

The way Shawn said it had so much confidence, so much conviction, that Juliet believed him.

OooOooO

**Eeek! I just went back and re-read it. I'm sorry. It's pretty boring. Don't worry. I promise that the good stuff is coming up. PLEASE REVIEW! 18 reviews so far! That is so awesome I can hardly believe it! Proven fact—reviews make me write faster! I'm more that willing to take suggestions! Thanks to all of the wonderful human beings who have reviewed so far!**


	8. Alone

**A/N-Here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy! It is another bridge chapter of sorts. Less so than the last. I hope you like it! Please review!**

**Disclaimer- Shockingly enough, Psych still isn't mine.**

**OooOooO**

Shawn and Juliet felt the van lurch to a stop beneath them. Juliet squeezed Shawn's arm in support, seeing as his hands were still tied behind his back. They heard loud voices outside the car for a few moments before the door at the back was thrown open. The bright sunlight blinded Shawn and Juliet.

"Oh look. We've got a handful here." One of the thugs said, indicating Juliet, whose blindfold and gag were gone and whose hands were in front of her. All three men present were the ones who had attacked them earlier. They were all wearing black ski masks, hiding their identities.

"Oh don't worry. I'm sure that he'll be able to break them down."

Shawn and Juliet exchanged a nervous glance. So they would be interrogated. Or worse—tortured.

One of the men hopped into the back of the van, pulling Juliet into a standing position by her wrists. He walked her to the edge of the car and let her hop to the ground where another man grabbed her bound wrists tightly, preventing her from running away. The man in the truck went back for Shawn. Unable to grab his wrists, he grabbed the scruff of Shawn's shirt. Instead of walking him to the edge and letting him hop out as he did Juliet, the thug pushed Shawn savagely out of the car, sending him crashing down into the dirt in front of his comrades' feet.

"Shawn!" Juliet dropped to her knees next to her friend.

"Don't worry Jules, I'm fine." Shawn spluttered.

One man grabbed Juliet underneath the arm and forced her to stand up. The two remaining men pulled up Shawn who, still dizzy from his head injury, was unable to stand on his own. The men led Juliet and half dragged-half carried Shawn towards their destination. Shawn took the opportunity to notice his surroundings. They had pulled into what looked like a giant garage/mini hangar. Shawn assumed that it was a storage area of some sort. There were a few other cars around as well as several hundred unmarked, brown boxes. They were being led towards a plain wood door leading out of the massive room. Once they went through the door, they entered an eerie looking hallway. The walls, floors and ceiling were all the same make. Concrete. _Where are we? _Shawn thought. It looked like they were in some sort of bunker.

Shawn and Juliet were led to the door on the right at the end of the hallway. On their way, they passed several different rooms, all seemingly unoccupied. The door was opened and the two were forced into the room. Shawn, unable to catch himself, was once again sent crashing into the floor.

"You two just sit tight. He will be with you soon."

"Who? Who will be with us soon? Why did you bring us here? What do you want with us?" Juliet asked, hate accenting every word she spoke.

The man just chuckled. "Come now detective. You don't really expect me to answer that, do you?"

Shawn and Juliet exchanged a look. How did they know that she was a detective?

"You will find out in due time." With that the man closed the door, engulfing them in darkness once more.

OooOooO

About ten minutes later, the door to Shawn and Juliet's makeshift cell was opened once more. An important looking man walked in, followed by two of his thugs.

"Shawn Spencer. Detective O'Hara. I'm so glad you could join us" His voice boomed around the small room. "I expect your journey was comfortable?" He asked sarcastically.

It was Shawn who answered "Wonderful. Excellent. I do have one complaint. Well two actually. The cabin lighting was just dreadful and I only got one bag of mini pretzels."

That earned him a kick in the stomach.

Shawn coughed "Wow Robert Madison. You sure know how to treat your guests. Are you by chance Greek?" Shawn asked sarcastically. The 'Robert Madison' was really a shot in the dark, but hey. It made sense.

The man in front of him faltered for half a second. This didn't go unnoticed by Shawn.

"Yes, you guessed it. But, Mr. Spencer, right now I would advise you to keep your mouth shut. After all, Detective O'Hara is the one I really want. You are just collateral damage."

Shawn looked up at Juliet and saw a flicker of fear in her eyes. It was gone as soon as it came.

"You see" Madison continued, "I have a little problem. A certain partner of mine decided to steal from me. Well, I can tell you that that was a mistake. He was dead before he could leave Santa Barbara. However, he hid my money. I want it back. And I believe that Detective O'Hara here knows where it is."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Juliet replied honestly.

"Well if you come with me, I'm going to see if we can… jog your memory." Madison said maliciously.

Shawn once again saw fear in Juliet's eyes. This time it didn't go away. He couldn't stand it. He wouldn't let anything happen to Juliet. He told her that everything would be okay. He wasn't about to let her down.

The two men behind Robert Madison came forward and grabbed Juliet. She screamed and kicked, but she couldn't get away from their tight grips.

"No!" Shawn shouted, "Stop! Stop it Madison!"

Juliet stopped screaming and turned to look at Shawn. They made eye contact. Knowing what he planned on doing she shook her head at him. _Don't do it. Don't do it Shawn!_

Shawn ignored her "I'm a psychic. I can help you find your money. Take me. Just... don't hurt her."

Madison smiled. His men dropped Juliet where they stood and moved to pick up Shawn. This was exactly what he wanted.

"Fine. Have it your way."

Shawn gave Juliet a reassuring nod before he was led out of the cell. The door was closed behind him, darkness taking over once more. And Juliet was left behind. She was left alone.

OooOooO

**Awww poor Juliet! Shawn is such a sweetheart! Self sacrifice. That's Shawn Spencer for ya. I hope you enjoyed! Please REVIEW! Thanks to everyone who has so far! And thanks to unpocoloco13 for the wonderful suggestions! :D I apologize for any mistakes, I was too lazy to proof read! **


	9. Love and Hate, Depending on Who You Are

**_CORRECTION! PLEASE READ THIS!_**** So I would like to thank Laury the Larurator for pointing out a serious mistake that I made. In my head, I got all the character names mixed up! In chapter 2 and 4 when I talked about the murderer who killed that man, the one who bought drugs, forced an OD then was killed in his cell, his name wasn't supposed to be Robert Madison. It's supposed to be Kyle Stark (I just watched Iron Man). I'm so sorry that I killed it! Robert Madison is the drug dealer who killed the Kyle Stark and has kidnapped Shawn and Juliet. Kyle Stark is the man who's body Shawn looked at in the morgue. I'm going to go back and fix it in case you're confused and want to see what I mean. I apologize for effectively ruining my story ****.**

**A/N- Chapter nueve. Okay so here is a warning right off the bat: this may be a little confusing. It's slightly on purpose. I wanted to try and make Shawn and Juliet's thoughts seem realistic. Really back and forth. Scattered. All over the place. I also made Shawn a smidgy-bit more emotional than he would be. Just for dramatic effect you know. I hope you like it! Sorry it took me so long to get this out. Maybe if there were more reviews I'd write faster *****hint hint * **

**Disclaimer- Psych is still the property of the kind folks over at USA**

**OooOooO**

Juliet sat silently in the pitch-black cell, emotions overwhelming her. Love, hate, fear, anger, anxiety and self-loathing to name a few.

She was the cop. Shawn was the civilian. She had let him take her place without even trying to stop him. _Oh my God. What if something happens to him?! What if they hurt him?! Oh God. It will be all my fault! _She was frantic.

At the same time, she was completely shocked by his actions. He was willing to endure God knows what in her place. He didn't even have to think about it.

Juliet put her face in her hands. She was furious with herself. Not only did she allow Shawn to be taken, she made it so that they wouldn't even have a chance of being found for hours. When Shawn and Juliet were having navigational troubles, she had called Lassiter. She told him that they'd be in late. He didn't need to worry and she'd see him in the morning.

So many emotions were running through Juliet's mind that she couldn't think straight.

"Please be okay Shawn." Juliet pleaded to the darkness that engulfed her.

OooOooO

As soon as Shawn got out of the cell he had been in with Juliet, Madison pulled out a cloth bag and put it over his head.

"Sorry Shawnie, we don't want to take any chances. We wouldn't want you to see too much." Madison sneered. Shawn could only assume that Madison was referring to his large stores of drugs. Shawn laughed humorlessly to himself. _Like I'll ever get out of here to tell anyone anyways. _He didn't know what he would tell Madison. How was he supposed to 'divine' the location of the money? All he was doing was stalling for time so that Juliet would have a chance.

Shawn felt himself being led down a winding hallway, then being forced into a chair. He was securely tied to the chair before the bag was removed. Robert Madison was standing in front of him.

"So, I'm going to cut the formalities. I'm not going to make an evil rant, or speech and I'm certainly not going to tell you my plans. What I want is for you to give me the information I need. If you just tell me, nobody has to get hurt."

Shawn looked up at him. "Look man, if you want anything from me, anything at all, you're going to have to let her go."

They both knew who he was talking about.

Madison just laughed. "Right. Here, how about this: if you tell me where my partner left the money, I won't kill your little detective friend.

"If you touch a single hair on her head, you can kiss that money goodbye because you will never see it again."

Madison nodded silently to one of the two large men in the room with them. He wordlessly walked over and punched Shawn in the stomach multiple times. Hard.

Shawn felt tears spring into his eyes as he felt one of his ribs give.

"That's enough."

With one final punch to Shawn's face, the goon walked away. Shawn yelled out at the pain now present in his nose. He felt blood starting to trickle down his face. He didn't think his nose was broken, but _God _it hurt.

"Now, Mr. Spencer, I don't believe that you are in the position to negotiate."

Shawn looked up at Robert with a glare of pure hatred.

"Go to hell."

This time, Robert Madison took the liberty of punching Shawn himself. Shawn's jaw was jerked to the side as Robert's fist connected with his face. He cried out again.

"I suggest you don't test me, Mr. Spencer!" Madison yelled. "Don't think for one second that I will hesitate to bring Detective O'Hara in here and make her squirm. What we will do to her is nothing compared to what you are going through now!"

Shawn felt cold fear grip his heart. He couldn't let anything happen to Juliet. He had to protect her. No matter what happened to him, she had to be okay.

Madison knew that he had hit a nerve. Spencer's face had gone white and he was trembling in rage.

"If you hurt her, I swear to God that I will hunt you down and kill you." Shawn said slowly, emphasizing every word. Shawn couldn't understand the emotions running through his head. He was trying so hard to hide his emotions. To be indifferent. It wasn't working. Just the thought of Juliet in any kind of pain made him furious and terrified at the same time.

Robert walked up to him swiftly, and grabbed a handful of Shawn's hair, yanking his head back.

"Mr. Spencer, your mouth is just making things worse for you, and your girlfriend. Now, if you don't stop talking within the next thirty seconds, one of my men is going to go get Detective O'Hara. Do you understand?"

"Look. It doesn't work that way. I can't just magically figure out where your money is. I need information on this guy. His past. His childhood. All family pets. Favorite foods, drinks, the way he likes his eggs—" Shawn was ranting, stalling for time. He wanted to keep Madison talking. Give Lassie time to find him.

"What kind of psychic are you? Are you supposed to be able to 'divine' things from tiny scraps of information? Here you're asking me to give you his freaking life story!"

"Mr. Madison, the spirits aren't too happy with me helping out criminals. They're being awful quiet."

Purely out of frustration, Madison gestured to his men once more. For the next several minutes, Shawn was brutally beaten. He didn't think that he had too many broken bones, maybe a few fractured ribs. His face was covered in blood that dripped down his chin and onto his shirt. Shawn spat out some of the blood that was in his mouth.

"Ok ok. I'll tell you what you want to know. Just… give me time. I need time to connect with the spirits." Oh, it was crap. It was all crap that didn't make sense in the slightest. But maybe it would earn him time. All Shawn could think about right now was his need to get away from the huge men with the big fists.

Madison silently considered this for a second. He nodded slowly the gestured for his men to take Shawn back to his cell. The men swiftly went and untied Shawn. They walked him to the door of his cell, opened the door and roughly pushed him in.

OooOooO

Juliet jerked awake as she heard the door open. Light flooded into room for a quick moment as Shawn was forced into the room. He collapsed and lay sprawled on the ground.

"Shawn!" Juliet cried.

"We'll be back in the morning." The large man outside the cell said as he slammed the door shut.

Shawn groaned and Juliet crawled over to him. She stroked his hair gently. She could feel the warm tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Oh Shawn"

"It's okay. I'm okay." Shawn lied.

Juliet just sat there silently stroking Shawn's hair as he slowly slipped into unconsciousness.

OooOooO

**Oh I'm so mean to Shawn, aren't I? The next chappie will involve Lassie. It'll be up as soon as I get to it :D. PLEASE REVIEW! I love reviews like Shawn loves pineapple. If you don't understand how much that is, I'm a little curious as to why you're reading fanfics about a show you don't watch…**


	10. It's worth it

**A/N- Okay, so I lied. This chapter isn't about Lassie (the next or the one after the next should be though). I fully intended for it to be, but I wasn't inspired. This one is really something that I posted because it's been a while. It's not super important to the story, but oh well. Deal with it. :D. Just so you know, this story is much, much, much longer than I intended. If you catch any mistakes or think that it is dragging on please let me know. Preferably in a private message as to not publicly embarrass me. Trust me, y'alls input means a lot to me and affects my writing, so let me know what you think! Continue reviewing my good people. Please. **

**Disclaimer- Psych isn't mine. Don't sue me, I said it. **

**OooOooO**

It was a few hours before Shawn woke up again. Juliet was still at his side, though she had fallen asleep. Her arm was stretched out and draped across his chest, just to make sure that he wasn't taken away from her again.

Shawn blinked a few times before he attempted to sit up. The screaming, blinding pain in his ribs made him give up rather quickly. Juliet, feeling movement beside her, shot bolt upright.

"Shawn!" She yelled. Shawn could hear the panic in her voice. She began groping blindly around her, looking for Shawn.

"It's okay, Jules. I'm here. I'm right here." Shawn reached out from his position on the ground and grabbed her hand. Well, he tried to at least. In the dark he accidently grabbed her ankle. Juliet reached down and took his hand.

"Shawn, are you okay?"

"Just peachy Jules." Shawn said. Probably the biggest lie he'd ever told. Well, maybe not the biggest, but still. He hurt everywhere. Shawn was just glad that they were in the dark so that Juliet couldn't see the shape he was in. "Could you help me get against a wall?"

Juliet hooked her arms underneath Shawn's armpits and started to drag him. Shawn propelled himself with his feet, all the while biting down so that he didn't let out any screams from the pain that this process was causing him. Luckily, the wall was only a couple of feet away. Shawn leaned against it and felt Juliet's warm body next to him within seconds.

"What'd they do to you?" It was almost a whisper.

"Oh Jules, all they wanted to do was talk. Had a few beers, split a pineapple and talked about the greyhound racing stats. Apparently, some dog named 'Where's Big Cash' is making quite a splash in the racing community. Yes, that is his real name. I've been told that he's called 'Snookie' by his friends, but that's neither here nor there—"

"Shawn!"

Even though he couldn't see her, Shawn could practically feel Juliet's eyes boring a hole into his head. They were both silent for a long time.

"Look. The guy wants to know where his partner hid all this money. He wants me to 'divine its location'. The thing is, I-I can't. The spirits aren't giving me a lot to work with Jules. I did my best to buy us some time, but Robert Madison doesn't seem like he's the patient type." It didn't really answer her question, but well, he didn't really want to answer her question.

It was quiet again. Shawn thought that Juliet had drifted to sleep. She began speaking again. "Why'd you do it?"

"Well Jules, to be honest, if I just sat there without talking I was pretty sure they'd kill me—"

"No. Shawn. Why'd you have them take you instead of me? Why'd you do it?"

Shawn sighed. He didn't want to answer that question either. He wasn't an emotional guy. Not outwardly at least.

"I don't know Jules. It was kind of a knee-jerk reaction. I did it before I knew what I was doing."

Shawn felt Juliet slump dejectedly beside him. "Oh." She said softly.

"That doesn't mean I regret it." Juliet perked up a little. "Jules, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I wouldn't even have to think about it. I don't—I don't want anything bad to happen to you." Shawn looked away, avoiding the eyes he couldn't see, but knew were there.

Everything he had just said was true, but understated. But hey. He was Shawn Spencer. Just that little display of sincere affection was more than one could expect under normal circumstances. But these weren't normal circumstances. Shawn didn't know if he would get out alive. If Juliet would get out alive. Now was not the time to hide from her.

"That's so sweet" Juliet said. "But don't you ever even think about doing anything like that ever again! I'm the cop. You're the civilian. It's my job to protect you, not the other way around." Shawn was taken aback by her sudden change in tone. He couldn't help but smile a little at Juliet trying to sound so tough.

"Okay Jules. Whatever you say." Shawn lied. He would keep taking blows for Juliet until the day he died if he had to.

Reassured, Juliet scooted closer to Shawn and rested her head on his shoulder. She was exhausted. Within seconds, she was fast asleep. Shawn was tired too, but he wanted to enjoy this moment with Juliet just a little longer, so he fought to stay awake. He rested his chin on top of her head. He ignored the harsh, burning sensation that the extra weight of her leaning on him caused.

Oh well. It was worth the pain.

**OooOooO**

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**PLEASE! **(I'm going for the desperate approach ;) )


	11. The best bargaining chip

**Here we go! Chapter 11. This chappie is going to be a smidgy-bit graphic. Not too much. Just fair warning. Please read and review! Reviews make my life worth living! (People say I'm dramatic. I don't understand why.)**

**Disclaimer- No, I still don't own Psych.**

**OooOooO**

The sound of the door opening along with the bright light of the hallway spilling into their infinitely dark cell awakened Shawn and Juliet. It really wasn't all that bright, but in comparison to the darkness that they were engulfed in, the light may as well have been the entire sun squeezed into their tiny room.

Shawn groaned and covered his eyes. _Whoever said that sleep could cure anything was lying their ass off. _If anything, he was worse off than he was last night. His face was covered in dried blood. It ran in a grotesque pattern from his hairline to his chin, staining his fair skin a pale crimson. Shawn was sure that he had a bruise the size of Texas over his tender ribs. Judging by how dizzy he was just from the movement of lifting his arm, he must also have a concussion.

"Good morning, sunshine." Shawn recognized the cruel, taunting voice from last night. It belonged to one of the accommodating men who acquainted themselves with him by beating the crap out of him.

"I think it's time you had another little talk with the boss." Shawn's pulse picked up speed. Juliet's eyes widened in fear for her friend. She scooted closer to him protectively.

"Look, man. I wanna help. I really, really do. But I just don't have any information yet. Torture me all you want, but it won't change that. If anything, it will slow down my divine processes." Shawn replied, doing everything he could to keep his voice steady. If he had ever know anything in his entire life, it was that he needed to keep him and Juliet away from Robert Madison.

The man laughed a guttural, evil laugh. He waltzed forward and grabbed Shawn by the scruff of his collar, lifting him up until his feet were off the floor. Shawn may as well have been a ragdoll. The resulting pain caused Shawn to cry out loudly.

"Shawn!" The sound of Shawn in pain tore at Juliet's heart. "Let him go!"

Juliet then made a huge mistake. Without thinking, she leaped up and punched the man in the gut. He stood there un-phased. The man slowly turned to stare down Juliet. She saw the fierce anger in his eyes. He threw Shawn forcefully, sending him crashing into the wall. Shawn screamed out. The man turned to Juliet and grabbed her by the throat, forcing her against the wall.

"That. Wasn't. Smart."

Once Shawn recovered enough from the pain to see the man strangling Juliet, he panicked. "No! Let her go! If you hurt her, I swear to God I won't tell you a single thing. Your boss won't ever find his money and it'll be all your fault."

This got through to the man. It seemed that everyone was afraid of Robert Madison. He released Juliet, letting her fall into a heap, gasping, on the floor.

A different voice from the hallway filled the room. "Relax Gabriel. We need both of them anyways." Robert Madison.

OooOooO

_No no no no no. Oh God no. Not Jules. Please not Jules. _Shawn silently cursed himself. He had to keep Juliet safe. He needed to. His mind was working a mile a minute trying to think his way out of this situation. But as they neared the interrogation room, Shawn knew it was hopeless. _Don't think like that, man. You'll figure it out. _

Shawn and Juliet were placed in chairs on the opposite sides of the room, facing each other. Their hands were tied to the wooden armrests; their feet were tied to the legs of the chair.

When Madison walked into the room, Shawn saw Juliet seem to shrink. She was terrified. Well, so was he, he just wouldn't show it.

"So, Mr. Spencer, tell me what I want to know."

Shawn looked Madison straight in the eye. "Listen Madison. I'm trying. I really am. I can't control what the spirits tell me. I just need more time." He saw what was coming before it happened.

The man, Madison called him Gabriel, attacked Shawn with a short metal pipe. The pain was incredible. Indescribable, really. When people describe the sort of pain Shawn went through, they say things like: 'It felt like he had been hit by a Mac truck', or 'It was as if he'd been trampled by a stampede of wildebeest'. Lies. All of them. Unless you've felt the pain that he was going through, you can't describe it.

Shawn wanted to die. He just wanted the pain to end. And then he heard something that brought him back to Earth.

"Shawn! Stop! Stop it! Please! Just leave him alone!" Juliet's cry was somewhere between a scream and a sob. Hearing the fear in her voice made Shawn realize that he couldn't give up. He had to get them out of there.

After what seemed like years, Robert Madison spoke. "Enough!"

Gabriel pulled away from Shawn, leaving him bloodied and battered. If his ribs weren't broken before, they sure were now. Thick gashes were left where the edge of the pipe had caught Shawn's flesh. He was left taking in ragged breaths, his chin to his chest. He didn't have enough strength to raise it.

"Pl-Please. I ca-can't. Please. I d-don't kn-now." If he weren't in so much pain, Shawn would have been ashamed at how his words came in sobs.

Silent tears rolled down Juliet's cheeks. She was helpless but to just sit and watch her best friend get beaten to a bloody pulp.

"Awwww, don't cry sweetheart." Madison said, he walked up to Juliet and placed a hand on her cheek, wiping away her tears. "It'll be over soon. And then I'll be here for you."

"Go. To. Hell." Juliet said, emphasizing every word. She spat in his face.

Madison's face twisted in rage. He brought his hand back and slapped her across the cheek cruelly.

Juliet whimpered in pain and Shawn let out a loud strangled cry. That was all he could muster.

Robert Madison looked from Shawn to Juliet, and back again. A realization dawned on him.

"Ohhhhh! I see. It all makes sense now. Young love. Foolish and ignorant. It also provides me with the greatest advantage I could ask for." Robert pulled out a sharp knife from a sheath hidden on his ankle. Shawn wearily lifted his head to stare fearfully at the blade.

"N-no. D-don't."

Madison walked over to Shawn and ran the blade teasingly around the skin on his face.

"Don't worry this isn't for you." He slashed at Shawn's arm, creating a large gash. Shawn whimpered. Madison laughed. "Well, it's not _just _for you."

Madison turned on his heel and slowly approached Juliet. The knife glistened wickedly when it caught the light. Shawn felt cold fear grip his heart. He struggled against his bonds, pain forgotten.

Juliet was shaking. Robert teased her with the blade like he did Shawn. Then he cut. He didn't slash like before, he dug the blade deep into her flesh, drawing blood. Slowly, he dragged the blade across Juliet's arm. A long, drawn out scream came from the detective.

"STOP! STOP IT YOU SON OF A BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU, I SWEAR TO GOD, I WILL!" Shawn was screaming. He didn't even realize that he was screaming. This was not the way to handle this situation. He needed to stay calm and composed. He was giving Madison exactly what he wanted. But he couldn't help it. Seeing Juliet in this kind of pain was unbearable.

"You can stop it, you know. Just tell me what I need to know."

Shawn hesitated for a fraction of a second. But then the look of terror on Juliet's face made him change his mind rather abruptly.

"Okay! Okay I'll tell you where it is! I'll tell you where it is." _What the hell are you doing, Shawn? _Both Shawn and Juliet were thinking the same thing.

"Well, I can't tell you. I have to show you. It's buried. I'll take you there. Just-just let her go." Shawn pleaded.

Madison laughed once again. "Dou you think I'm stupid, Spencer? I'm not giving up my best bargaining chip. I'll let you take me to the money, but your little detective girlfriend is coming with us."

**OooOooO**

**I'm not a bad person, I swear! This story is pretty close to being over. Maybe… four, five more chapters. So, not that close. Sweet baby J this is long… Oh well. Y'alls reviews are what keep me going! Keep 'em coming! Please! :D**


	12. Three creams, four sugars

**Okay faithful readers. Here is chapter doce. I hope you enjoy! Sorry I didn't update last week! I've been crazy busy!**

**OooOooO**

Carlton Lassiter rubbed his eyes wearily as he sat down behind a desk covered in paperwork. He hadn't been sleeping well lately. Carlton had always thought himself invincible. Nothing could get to him. Bullets, knives, poisons—women. He was beyond the pain that these things could cause.

And now a stupid case of insomnia had gotten the best of him. Lassiter sipped at his coffee. That helped a lot—three creams, four sugars—sure, it was a heart attack in a cup but the caffeine boost was a lifesaver. He pulled out a pen and began to work on the mountain of paperwork cluttering his desk. Lassiter loved his job, but man, the paperwork was hell.

It took Carlton a full four minutes to wonder where his partner was. She had called and said that she'd be in late, but still. O'Hara was _never _late to work. And shouldn't Spencer be here bothering him already? _Nah. Too early for that. The idiot is probably still sleeping. _

Lassiter checked his phone for about the hundredth time. Still no call from his partner. After another half hour he was starting to fidget. Four minutes after that he was standing in the chief's office.

"Chief, we may have a problem."

**OooOooO**

**Short, I know and I'm sorry! I was a loser and missed last week then I dish this out. Please don't hate me! I'll try to update before the weekend is out! **

**You guys, this story is getting away from me! Reviews will help greatly in giving me the willpower to finish! **


	13. Pain, Plans, and Apologies

**I would like to start by saying how amazingly awesome you guys are. Seriously. You rock. Y'alls reviews are totally boosting my self esteem and thus, my desire to finish this. So, my friends, loyal readers, this is for you. I hope you enjoy!**

**OooOooO**

The last thing that Juliet wanted to do was get back in the van. In the van, the darkness overwhelmed her, making her shrink down into nothingness. She felt helpless and hopeless—a rather dangerous combination.

She was scared. And not just for herself. The look on Shawn's face and the sound of his tortured screams kept replaying in her head. Rarely had Juliet seen Shawn loose his composure. Never, ever had she seen him loose it like he had when she was being cut. She could hear the pain and pure horror behind his cries.

And then he had to go and tell Madison that he knew where the money was. This brought her back to her current situation—the van.

Had she not been so exhausted, Juliet would have fought. Kicked, screamed, scratched, bitten—what ever it took to avoid the paralyzing darkness that the back of the van would bring. She could tell that Shawn was just as tired. No. Shawn was way more exhausted. His eyes were dark. There wasn't even a trace of the smile that occupied his face most of the time. Blood trickled from his nose, mouth, and other cuts on his face, running down his jaw-line to his chin. The men leading them to the van were practically carrying him.

The doors of the van were opened and Shawn was thrown in roughly. His yelp of pain tore at Juliet's heart. Seeing him in this much pain was horrifying. Shawn was supposed to be invincible. Nothing seemed to get to him.

Juliet was thrown in seconds later, landing right on top of Shawn, who cried out once more.

"Oh God, Shawn! I'm so sorry!"

Shawn smiled sardonically. "Like it's your fault." He spluttered. His voice was shallow.

"Okay, Spencer. Where are we going?" Madison's voice filled their small space.

_Oh great Shawn. _Shawn thought. _What are you going to do now, genius? _Then an idea hit him. There was a fair chance that it wouldn't work, but hey. It was a plan at least.

"The gas station off of FDR and 42nd Street."

Juliet's eyes widened, as she understood his plan.

"This better not be a trick, Spencer. If it is, your little girlfriend is going to pay." On that happy note, Robert Madison slammed the van doors shut leaving Shawn and Juliet alone.

"FDR and 42nd, Shawn? That's right next to the—"

"Police station, I know. "

OooOooO

The worst part was the waiting. The anticipation. Shawn and Juliet spoke very little, but they always maintained physical contact. Whether it was hand and hand or just shoulders touching, they always knew where the other was.

"Shawn," Juliet began hesitantly, "Are you okay?"

Shawn was quiet for a long time.

"Seeing him" Shawn's voice broke; He struggled to get the words out, overwhelmed with emotion, "seeing him… hurt you like that. It was… I can't… I couldn't…" He broke off, unable to continue.

Juliet took Shawn's hand. There were tears in her eyes.

"It's okay, Shawn. I'm okay. I promise." Juliet was shocked by his display of emotion. "It's you I'm worried about. You took quite a beating back there."

Shook his head. He then realized that she couldn't see him.

"Don't. I'm fine. All I want is to get you out of here."

Juliet was glad for the darkness right now. She didn't want to see Shawn's face. She knew that there would be pain there. She didn't want to see that.

No one had ever cared about her like Shawn did. He had gone in and been beaten for her. To protect her. And Juliet knew that he'd do it again. That was just Shawn. He was sitting in a pitch-black car, half-dead from the hell he'd been put through, bleeding all over the place, and all he wanted was to get _her_ out of there? Juliet's heart swelled with love for the man sitting next to her.

Her mind was racing. Her heart was beating in her chest. Shawn had to be able to hear it. Without thinking, Juliet raised the hand that wasn't in Shawn's to caress his face softly. Slowly, painfully slowly, she raised her face to his. She could feel his warm breath on her face. Juliet looked deeply into the eyes that she couldn't see.

"Jules—"

Then she kissed him. Slow and sweet. The van was filled with fireworks. All of Shawn and Juliet's problems melted away. All the pain. In this moment, all they had was each other. Time stopped. Here, now—that was all that mattered.

Juliet's had released Shawn's and she brought it up to run smoothly through his hair. Shawn held Juliet to him. They didn't break away until their lungs burned with the need for oxygen. Juliet rested her forehead on Shawn's. They were both breathing heavily.

"Jules?"

"Thank you, Shawn. Thank you for caring about me so much."

Suddenly, unexpectedly, all of the emotions that Juliet had been holding in for the past day broke loose. She began to sob uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry, Shawn. I'm so sorry." Juliet cried.

"Sorry for what, Jules? You didn't do anything wrong." Shawn cupped Juliet's face, wiping away her tears. Juliet held onto his wrists, shaking her head as if she didn't deserve his comfort.

"I'm sorry this happened to you. I'm sorry that it wasn't me. I'm sorry that Robert Madison is putting you through this! He wanted me! I let him take you and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Juliet was hysterical.

Shawn reached out and pulled Juliet into his lap. She cried into his shoulder as he held her to him tightly.

"I'm not."

**OooOooO**

**So this is pretty much my first attempt at romance. Like, ever. So I'm sorry if it sucks. I totally didn't plan for it to happen like this, but hey, I was inspired. I'm not really one to plan ahead anyways. **

**Keep up the awesome reviews people! THANK YOU SO MUCH! YOU'VE BEEN AMAZING SO FAR!!! :D**


	14. Cogs and Gears

**Once again, I am soooo sorry that I didn't update last week! But luckily, it's Spring Break so I should be able to post at least one more chapter before week's end. Thanks for the reviews! I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer—The wonderful brilliance that is Psych does not, in fact, belong to me.**

**OooOooO**

Chief Vick had completely dismissed Carlton's worries over Juliet. _Dismissed them! _

Lassiter ran his fingers through his salt-and-pepper hair. _This is going to be a long day. _

"McNab!" Lassiter yelled across the Santa Barbra Police Department. When there was no response he yelled again "McNAB!!!!"

An officer patiently told Lassiter that Buzz wasn't in today. _Great. That's just great. Now I have to get my own coffee. _Muttering under his breath, Carlton made his way to the coffee maker at the back of the department. _Of course it's broken. Why wouldn't it be broken? That's just my luck. Police officers don't get any respect these days. The can't even make sure that the damn coffee maker is working. _Carlton continued to babble mindlessly as he made his way to his car. _With my luck, the gas station won't have any coffee. _

OooOooO

Shawn and Juliet sat in silence. Juliet rested her head Shawn's shoulder and held his hand lightly. Shawn's presence was like an opiate. Juliet could almost forget about the horrifying situation that they were in.

She could have stayed there forever—Robert Madison, however, had other plans.

The double-doors of the van were thrown open wide. The two captives shrunk in the face of the harsh sunlight that so greatly contrasted the darkness of the van. Robert Madison's face appeared smiling wickedly.

"We're here." He stated simply and gestured for the pair to get out of the van. 'Here' was a relative term. The mismatched group of two prisoners, two thugs (one stayed back to drive the van as a get-away vehicle) and a criminal mastermind were about a block away from the gas station that Shawn claimed held Madison's money. Undoubtedly Madison didn't want the van close enough that it's suspicious exterior would draw suspicion to them.

Juliet almost smiled when she realized that they had approached their destination from the direction that didn't take them past the police department. If Madison had seen the massive building he surely would have caught on to their plan.

To Shawn and Juliet's surprise, Madison took out a short knife and cut the bonds keeping their hands together. Seeing the shock on their faces, Robert said, "Don't get excited. I just don't want you attracting any unwanted attention. You two will be walking away from each other, separated by my men. If either of you tries anything funny, if you try to talk or make contact of any kind, if you even look at each other, I will shoot the other."

Juliet had to hand it to him; Robert Madison was a master at hitting where it hurt.

"Have I made myself perfectly clear?"

The pseudo-psychic and detective nodded solemnly. "Okay then. Let's go."

The group began making their way to the gas station. The anticipation was building up to an unbearable point. Juliet had no idea what Shawn was going to do or how he could remain so calm. Or at least remain _looking _so calm.

Unbeknownst to Juliet, Shawn was thinking the exact same thing. _What _am_ I going to do? _He had limited options and they were running out of time. The cogs and gears were whirring in his head at the speed of light.

Shawn had no doubt that he could get himself out of this. He was always a sweet talker and he had pretty good eyes. He'd see an escape a mile away. But with Juliet… that made it trickier. He would have no way of communicating a plan with her, and if he tried to escape, Madison would hurt her. Really, his main hope now was that a worker at the gas station would have a panic button. The police response should be almost instantaneous. _I mean, they are only a block or so away. _

Shawn sighed inwardly. As they were walking forwards, Shawn did something he never did unless the situation was dire. He prayed.

OooOooO

About fifteen yards away from their destination, Robert Madison confronted Shawn again.

"Okay, Spencer. This is how this is going to work. Once we get inside, my pal Gabriel here is going to take the detective towards the back of the store. If he hears anything from me that would even _suggest_ that you are doing something wrong—well, I guess you can tell your little girlfriend goodbye. Actually, Gabe, why don't you take the lady inside right now?"

Gabriel took Juliet by the upper arm and steered her to the entrance. Juliet turned around and gave Shawn a reassuring nod before she was ushered inside.

"Now Mr. Spencer, you will tell me where in there my money is." Madison's intense stare bore a hole into Shawn's head.

"You're not going to like it." Shawn said in a singsong voice.

Madison's jaw hardened and his fist clenched. He didn't dare hit Shawn outside of his lair where the public could see him.

"Quit playing games, Spencer and tell me where it is!"

"It's in the walls."

Robert looked at him with disbelief. "It's… what?"

"The walls. I guess your 'partner' hid the money while this place was undergoing renovation or something. It is literally in the walls. I'll have to go in there and extend my psychic feelers to be more specific."

Shawn could tell that Madison didn't like it, but nevertheless he agreed. Nodding curtly, he beckoned for Shawn to lead the way.

Shawn just had to stall a while longer so he could figure out what to do.

OooOooO

The gas station off of FDR and 42nd was an unimpressive place. Four antiquated gas pumps sat on the concrete ground. The building inside sold cigarettes, snacks, coffee—pretty much anything you would need for a long drive. The paint on the side of the building was starting to peel off. It wasn't like the gas station stood in a bad area, just a cheap one.

Long story short, it was exactly the kind of place that Carlton Lassiter _didn't _want to go. But he knew that if he wanted to get through this day he would need to set up a caffeine IV. This was the closest place to get that.

Still grumbling under his breath, Lassiter walked through the door.

**OooOooO**

**Okie doke. So. Good news, I've finally figured out what is going to happen! Some of you might think that you know, and if you do, you are a lot smarter than me. I'm pretty much making this up as I go along. Seriously. Like, all of last chapter wasn't even supposed to happen. But it did. Oh well.**

**Continue to review good sirs and madams. :D**


	15. Coincidences

**Chapter 15! Hope you enjoy!**

**OooOooO**

Thank the Lord that Shawn was always good at stalling. In his school talent show in 7th grade, Shawn and Gus had joined together to put on a magic show. Of course, five minutes before they were supposed to go on, the rabbit and birds got loose, the 'lovely' assistant (aka Gus) developed a case of stage fright, and the flame torches that Shawn was supposed to juggle set the stage on fire. Shawn was able to stall the audience for a good fifteen minutes, giving Gus and Henry enough time to fix everything. And so the show went on.

This was completely different.

Jokes didn't work. Telling fortunes didn't work. Not even Shawn's signature "I can tell you the exact date and time you'll die by the number of nose hairs you have" trick worked. All that Shawn had to go off of was his psychic act.

This was life and death. Not only for him but also for Juliet. If he couldn't figure out something then Robert Madison would kill her. He couldn't let that happen.

So Shawn felt around the walls. Tapping, sniffing--sometimes even licking. Every now and then he would jolt or spaz as if he was having a vision. When asked about it he brushed it off as "psychic interference".

Shawn looked around the store, trying to find Juliet. A few isles over he could see a sliver of blonde hair peeking over the shelf. He was also able to see the much more visible top of Gabe's head.

"What are you looking at?" Madison growled with a blow between Shawn's shoulder blades. Shawn just shook his head and continued on.

_The worker here must be the stupidest person in the planet. _Shawn thought frustrated. How could he not notice the two men with bloody, beaten hostages? And of course there were no customers to raise the alarm. As if on cue the bell above the door began ringing madly as someone walked into the store.

OooOooO

Juliet felt helpless. There she was, trapped between isles of the gas station, as a hostage. _Aren't I supposed to be the cop? _Shawn shouldn't be the one dealing with Madison. She should. It was her job. But no. She gets to play hostage. The more she thought about it the more frustrated she became.

Her mind was racing, trying to find some way of escape. _UGH! There has to be something I can do! Anything! _As Juliet scanned her surroundings with keen eyes she quickly came to the realization that there was nothing she could do. If she tried to do anything it could get her killed. Or worse: Shawn. She would never be able to live with herself if she did something that resulted in him getting hurt.

It was all up to Shawn now.

OooOooO

The gas station was nearly deserted when Carlton walked in. Over the top of a shelf he could see a blonde head as well as a tan bald one. Presumably husband and wife. Out of the corner of his eye Lassiter also saw a glimpse of an eerily familiar sneaker disappearing quickly behind a shelf.

_Probably some punk I've caught before. _Lassiter thought, trying to convince himself. Something just seemed off. He just couldn't put his finger on it. The atmosphere was just… dark. Apprehensive. As if the store itself knew something terrible was about to happen.

Lassiter began to make his way to the coffee machine where he filled his cup to the brim uneasily.

OooOooO

_LASSIE!!! _Shawn couldn't believe his luck. With Lassiter here all he needed to do was find a way to make Lassie see either him or Juliet. Once that happened Carlton was sure to blow minds and rock some socks. (Shawn wouldn't admit it, but he always had a rather high opinion of Lassiter's marksmanship).

Now all he had to do was send him some kind of sign…

And then he saw it. A pineapple place mat. It couldn't be any more crystal clear. Thinking quickly, Shawn pretended to stumble and knock a few things off of the shelves, including the place mat. Sure it got him a harsh blow to the back of his already throbbing head, but if it worked…

Using the toe of his shoe, Shawn propelled the mat as far forward as he could. The mat slid under shelves before coming to a rest right next to the doorway. Shawn cheered silently.

"Come on Spencer! Speed it up! Where the hell is my money?!"

"Almost there. The signs are becoming clearer…" Shawn had his left hand to his head and swung his right wildly, as if on its own accord. His had stopped moving abruptly, pointing to a spot on the wall barely five feet from the entrance.

"He couldn't make it easy, could he?" Madison mumbled under his breath. "Okay, after this customer leaves."

OooOooO

Coffee paid for, Carlton Lassiter began to make his way towards the exit. With one hand on the door handle, he noticed something on the floor. A pineapple place mat. _No. It can't be… Can it? _Lassiter swung his head to look around. _May as well have a look… just to be sure…_

Carlton began to walk up and down the isles, making sure to check each thoroughly and discreetly. He was walking in the next isle, past the blonde woman and her husband when he smelled something. _Lavender._

O'Hara always smelled like lavender. _It's just the nerves of not seeing her, I guess. _Then looking down and from underneath the shelf he saw her shoes. The back of the low black heels had a small, jagged tear. He remembered O'Hara being pissed after one case because her shoes were torn during a booking.

It all added up: Spencer and O'Hara were in this store. _But where is Spencer?_

Carlton didn't find him until he came to the refrigerated section. Near the back corner of the store, he saw the unmistakable up-do of Shawn Spencer from behind. He appeared to be in deep conversation with the man facing Carlton. Spencer proceeded to move his right hand to his back, as if to scratch an itch. Instead of scratching, however, Shawn began making shapes with his hand. _Sign language. _Lassiter watched from the corner of his eye intensely.

H E L P M E. R O B E R T M A D I S O N.

Taking a deep breath, Lassiter drew his gun.

OooOooO

Shawn just hoped that Lassiter got his message. For all he knew the older man didn't even know sign language. But it was all he had.

As soon as Shawn saw Madison's eyes focus on Lassiter rather than him, he kneed the criminal hard in the stomach. Madison was quick and responded with a devastating blow to Shawn's face, sending him crumpling to the ground. After landing his punch, Robert saw the glint of a gun from somewhere ahead and instinctively dove to the side. Bullets imbedded themselves in the wall where his head had been.

"GABE!!" Madison screamed, in desperate need for reinforcements. He drew his gun.

Juliet took advantage of Gabriel's distraction from hearing his name and landed a punch on his jawline. Figuring that she couldn't hold the massive man off for long Juliet ran towards the voices.

Juliet emerged in the refrigerated section in the middle of the scene. Lassiter stood on one side, Madison the other. Both had guns drawn. Shawn lay a few yards from Madison. He was beginning to recover from Madison's crushing punch. Juliet began to run towards Shawn.

Robert Madison saw the blonde detective slip out of the isle and realized that he was on his own. _Take out the easy target first. _He switched his aim from Lassiter to Juliet. Shawn, seeing this, launched himself off the floor to attempt to push her out of the way. Gabriel, recovered from the shock of Juliet's attack, emerged from the isle and also drew his weapon.

Cries of pain and shock reverberated in the small shop as three guns fired and bullets made contact.

**OooOooO**

**Mwhahaha! CLIFFHANGER!!! If you review you'll find out what happens sooner!! Sorry if it was confusing!**


	16. She'd Always Hated Blood

**Okie doke here we go with chapter 16. I couldn't leave you guys hanging for **_**that**_** long. I hope you enjoy! Please review!**

**Disclaimer: I still do not own Psych. If I did I would make it a year round show :/**

**OooOooO**

Juliet O'Hara had always hated blood. The sight of it. The smell. The feel of it on her skin. Everything about it. In her work as a detective she had been able to put aside her feelings of revulsion at the sight of corpses and get the job done.

The composure that Juliet had worked so hard to achieve in the presence of blood vanished in an instant.

The sight of Shawn lying on the floor, soaking in his own blood brought back all of her feelings of fear and disgust.

Somewhere to her right Robert Madison hit the ground, struck by one of Lassiter's bullets. Madison's trusted bodyguard, Gabriel, fell dead, his shot hitting the ceiling harmlessly. Seeing Gabriel sneak up, Lassiter had shot once, hitting Madison, then again, killing Gabriel. Madison's bullet made contact with Shawn, who pushed Juliet out of the way in the nick of time.

Juliet was frozen in fear and shock. Her mind was blank. She was unable to register what was going on around her. The scene around her was a blur of color and sound. Lassiter glanced over to make sure that Madison was incapacitated and made his way over to Shawn swiftly.

Juliet still didn't move as sirens sounded in the distance.

OooOooO

Carlton began applying pressure to Shawn's wound—a single gunshot that landed a few inches to the right of his belly button. Lassiter used his jacket to stanch the bleeding. Under different circumstances he would have been infuriated to ruin a perfectly good jacket for Shawn Spencer. But now Shawn looked so helpless and weak he was incapable of being angry with him.

"J-Jules?" Shawn whimpered pitifully. His eyes were frantically searching for a sign of the blonde detective.

Lassiter turned to glance at O'Hara, expecting her to react to Shawn in some way. For her to say something, come over to sit by him—anything. But she just stood there. Rooted to the spot, eyes wide, mouth gaping slightly.

"Jules? P-Please. Is she okay? Juliet!" Shawn was starting to panic, which couldn't be good for him in this condition.

"She's fine, Spencer. Just fine. You saved her." Lassiter answered, taking pity on him.

Carlton was able to hear sirens coming nearer. _The cashier must have hit a panic button. _He just hoped the ambulance would get there in time. While the wound itself wasn't near any vital organs, he was worried about the younger man bleeding out. Spencer sure was bleeding a lot.

"Jules. Juliet, please." Shawn was becoming disoriented. He continued to mumble Juliet's name over and over.

Shawn was silent for a moment and then he started freaking out. "JULIET! Stop! Don't hurt her! PLEASE! JULES! NO!!" Shawn started to struggle against Lassiter's firm hold, causing him to bleed out faster. He was clearly hallucinating.

Carlton turned a pleading look to his partner who still hadn't moved.

"O'Hara!" She didn't flinch. "O'Hara! Snap out of it! Spencer needs you!"

Slowly Juliet began to come back to Earth.

"Shawn?" She asked in a small voice.

"O'Hara I need you to calm him down. If you don't he will bleed out and die. Just talk to him. You can do it. He's calling for you." Carlton had never been one for sugarcoating the truth.

"Shawn?" Juliet repeated, walking slowly towards the injured man. When she got to him she kneeled down beside him and grasped his hand. The detective's eyes welled with tears. "Shawn it's me. Don't worry I'm here. You're going to be okay."

"Jules?" Shawn's eyes searched frantically before finding her face. He focused in on her and relaxed. "Jules." Shawn said, relief evident in his voice.

"D-Don't leave me. P-Please. I need you." He said. Shawn was clearly still a little disoriented, but still, his words broke the dam holding back her tears and Juliet began crying freely.

"I'm not going anywhere Shawn." Shawn's grip on Juliet's hand tightened slightly before becoming weak.

"Sh-Shawn?" Juliet asked tentatively, fear in her voice.

"Jules…" Shawn began slowly as he started to fade.

"Yes I'm here Shawn. Stay with us."

"I think—I think I…" Shawn was struggling with his words.

"Yes Shawn?"

"I think I love you."

Of all the things That Shawn could have said in that moment, Juliet definitely did not expect to hear that. He could have said 'I think I'm shot' or 'I think I understand quantum physics' or 'I think my grandmother was an orca whale'. These things wouldn't have taken her aback like 'I think I love you'. As hard as it was for her to register, Shawn's words seemed to clarify all of Juliet's emotions. She knew she felt the same way.

"I think I love you too." Shawn smiled blissfully before losing consciousness.

"Shawn?!" Juliet began to cry harder until sobs wracked her body. Lassiter checked his pulse. It was weak, but there.

As the little store was flooded with police officers and paramedics, Juliet stayed right by Shawn's side, clinging to his hand like a lifeline. She stayed with him until the ambulance doors slammed shut. Shawn was rushed to the hospital.

While Juliet gave her statement and was examined by an EMT, Shawn's words replayed in her head, as if a never-ending echo: _I think I love you._

**OooOooO**

**So, I'm still deciding whether to make this a tragedy or a happily ever after. Thoughts? **

**And for all you silent readers, I know you're out there. I myself don't review all the time. I try to, but I don't. So here's a proposition. I am going to ask you lurkers to review just once (For you repeat reviewers: KEEP IT UP!!! I LOVE IT!!). Clearly you don't have to review, but not only does it make me as happy as a hippo in a hot tub, it makes me write faster! (No lie) So PLEASE review! :D Thanks!**


	17. Don't Get Excited

**Okay, so first I have to say that you guys are flipping awesome! I got a ridiculous amount of reviews last chapter. I was crazy impressed by how many of you lurkers reviewed! It was the hippo in the hot tub thing, wasn't it? Either way, you people are my favorite EVER!! **

**Another thing, I know this chapter is short. I won't be able to update again until at least this weekend, so I wanted to publish this because you guys reviewed so much. So, sorry!**

**One more thing. This chapter is Shawn's point of view after he's shot. It will be a smidgy-bit confusing. I don't know if y'all have noticed this, but the way I write reflects the tone of the story. So since Shawn is confused and frantic, this is a little all over the place. If you don't understand something I'd advise that you go back and look at the last chapter. Thanks! :D**

**OooOooO**

He hardly caught any of what was going on. The blinding, agonizing, crippling pain in his side made sure of that. He knew he had been shot but all that Shawn could bring himself to focus on was Juliet. _Did I get there in time? There were two shots. Has she been hit? Oh God. Please let her be okay. _He began thinking once he registered what had happened. Lassiter came to his side. The detective's jacket was used to staunch the flow of blood emanating from the gaping hole in his side. _Why is it Lassie here? Where is Jules! _

"J-Jules?" He muttered weakly.

When there was no response Shawn began to panic.

"Jules? P-Please. Is she okay? Juliet!"

"She's fine, Spencer. Just fine. You saved her." Shawn could hardly hear Lassiter. The pain and blood loss was becoming too much for him.

"Jules. Juliet, please." He was mumbling almost incoherently. Lassiter didn't matter. His words didn't matter. All that mattered was Juliet and she was nowhere to be seen. _Oh God she's been hurt, or—or… no. She has to be alive. I have to see her! Where is she?! _

That's when Shawn completely lost it. The past days flashed before his eyes at the speed of light. He was back with Madison in that God forsaken room. Juliet was being tortured. _No. Not again. This can't be happening! _Madison pulled out his knife once more. Shawn couldn't take it.

"JULIET! Stop! Don't hurt her! PLEASE! JULES! NO!!" Something was holding him down. Shawn began struggling against the invisible force.

He could hear voices coming from around him, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. Suddenly Shawn felt a small, soft hand slip into his own, it's grip gentle yet firm.

"Shawn it's me. Don't worry I'm here. You're going to be okay." Juliet's voice was the most amazing sound he'd ever heard.

"Jules?" After a moment he was able to find where her voice was coming from. He saw Juliet was unharmed and he visibly relaxed.

In that moment he knew that everything was going to be okay. All he needed was Juliet. As long as she was here he'd be fine. And then a horrible thought occurred to him: _What if she leaves? Oh no she can't leave. I need her. _

"D-Don't leave me. P-Please. I need you." His mind was racing. He was even more disoriented than before.

"I'm not going anywhere Shawn." Shawn tightened his grip on Juliet's hand. The effort proved to be too much for him and his grip slackened.

"Sh-Shawn?" The fear in Juliet's voice made Shawn realize for the first time how bad things really were. _Oh God I'm going to die. This is it. It's over. I'm going to die and Juliet will never know how I feel about her._

"Jules…" His world was beginning to fade to black.

"Yes I'm here Shawn. Stay with us." Her voice was thick with tears.

"I think—I think I…" He was trying desperately to get the words out.

"Yes Shawn?"

"I think I love you."

Shawn only heard one more thing before he lost consciousness:

"I think I love you too."

**OooOooO**

**Okay, so I hope it wasn't too terrible. *sighs*. Oh well. There should be another chapter up soon. **

**I would greatly appreciate more reviews! (And I know that you have something to say because it is likely that this is the worst chapter yet :/ ) **


	18. Tears

**You guys blow my mind. You're completely ridiculous. (In a good way ****) 108 reviews?!?! I NEVER expected that many! It's AWESOME! So I updated as quickly as possible! It would've been up sooner, but I had spur of the moment inspiration for another Psych fic that I published earlier… yesterday I guess. Oh well, it didn't take too long. I hope you enjoy 18 (It's long too)!**

**Disclaimer: Those lovely folks up in Vancouver own Psych. Not me. **

**OooOooO**

This was unprecedented. He had no idea how to handle this situation. There was a dying psychic undergoing emergency surgery. There was a wanted criminal to be dealt with, along with a dead henchman and a traumatized cashier. Not to mention his partner, who was sitting in the waiting room of the hospital in stony silence. Not the same shocked silence as when Spencer was shot, either. A full on, depressed, terrified, anxious, traumatized silence.

In the moments after Spencer went down, Carlton Lassiter had witnessed a very personal moment between him and O'Hara. Lassiter could only imagine that his partner had a lot to process. Meanwhile there was still no word on Shawn's condition. _How did it come to this? No one even knew that they were gone! God knows what the two of them have gone through in the past 24 hours. _

Carlton ran his long fingers through his hair. Henry Spencer still wasn't answering his phone. He didn't leave a message either. It didn't seem right. "Oh hi, Mr. Spencer. This is Detective Carlton Lassiter. I hope you're having a wonderful time on your trip. Oh yeah, and your son is in the hospital after being beaten then shot. We aren't sure if he's going to live or not. Call me back!" Nope. It wasn't right.

On the other hand, Lassiter was able to get through to Guster. That was not a fun phone call. Gus was clearly terrified for his friend. The pharmaceuticals sales rep was on his way back to Santa Barbara at that very moment, Lassiter estimated he'd be there in about four hours. _Who knows if Spencer will even be alive then._ He shook his head. _No. I can't think that way! _As much as Lassiter showed his… distaste for the psychic, he certainly didn't wish him harm.

And that left him. Lassiter was at the hospital with his partner. This was where he was needed most. The anticipation was beginning to be too much for the detective. He was standing up and pacing. And he had been since they got there. _Two hours and forty-seven minutes ago_. Lassiter checked his watch. _Make that forty-eight. Why is it taking so damn long?! _

OooOooO

Juliet was so confused. So much had happened in such a short amount of time. Trying to process it was like trying to read an entire textbook the class period before a test. _I said I loved him. Did I mean it? Of course I meant it. I mean, I do love him. How could I not? He said he loved me. Did he mean it or was he just delirious? I may not ever find out. What if he… No. He's going to live. He's Shawn. He has to live. He can't die. He's Shawn. Always smiling. Always happy. He's everywhere, all the time. He shows up no matter what. I don't know what I'd do if he…_

Juliet was crying softly now. It seemed like she'd been doing nothing but crying lately. After Shawn's first round with Madison. When she witnessed him being tortured. When he was shot. After they kissed. _I kissed him. But he kissed back. That means something, doesn't it? _Once again Juliet felt a tug at her heart. He said that he didn't regret it. He was in so much pain when he said it too. _How could he not regret it? _In her heart she knew the answer: _Because he loves me._

OooOooO

When the doctor in dark blue scrubs finally walked out, Juliet stopped breathing. _Oh God. He looks sad. Shawn's dead isn't he. No he looks relieved. He's alive. He looks angry! What does that mean?! Oh God._

"You are the ones who brought Shawn Spencer in, right?"

They both nodded.

"How is he, doctor? Is he…" Lassiter asked with trepidation.

"No, no. He's alive. I'll tell you what, Mr. Spencer sure is a fighter." A 5,000-pound weight was lifted off of Juliet's shoulders. She exhaled with relief and pressed her forehead into Carlton's arm.

"But," The doctor started. O'Hara's head whipped up so fast she surely got whiplash. "You have to understand, detectives, Mr. Spencer lost a lot of blood. Not only from the gunshot. He was suffering from internal bleeding in several areas as well as having numerous cuts that bled quite a bit. While he has had blood transfusions, his brain suffered from a lack of oxygen for a significant amount of time."

"So? What does that mean?" Juliet asked fearfully.

The doctor continued cautiously. "A lack of oxygen to the brain can have very serious side effects--"

"Such as?" Lassiter prompted.

"In Mr. Spencer's case, our primary concern is brain damage"

"B-brain damage?" Juliet had to sit down to keep her head from spinning off her shoulders.

"Mr. Spencer's surgeon put him under a medically-induced coma shortly after he was brought in. Basically the doctor used certain drugs to limit the amount of activity going on as to relieve cranial swelling, thus preventing brain damage."

"And did it work? Can he wake up? Will he be okay?" Lassiter spoke for his partner, who was working to control her frantic breathing.

"The doctors are waking him up now. Once he is awake they'll be able to assess him and determine if there is any lasting damage."

"I want to see him." O'Hara spoke with a steely determination in her eyes.

"I don't know if that is the best idea." The doctor replied.

"I wasn't asking."

OooOooO

Juliet wasn't prepared for the machines. Tubes and wires were everywhere, hooked up to the still form of her friend. _He's too still. He's never still. _Shawn looked so small and pale and helpless. It physically hurt Juliet to see him like this.

A nurse was leaving the room as she entered. "He's just been brought out of the coma. It will take some time for him to wake up. Just page the doctor when he does." The nurse gave her a sympathetic smile before walking away.

Slowly and quietly, Juliet made her way to the chair besides Shawn. Carlton had offered to accompany her, but she had denied. This was something she needed to do alone.

Taking his hand in her own, Juliet began to speak to him softly "Hey Shawn. It's me. Jules. I don't know if you can hear me. Or understand me. But—I just want to thank you." Juliet exhaled. _How is this still hard? He's flipping unconscious! _"What you did for me… I-I would never have thought that anyone would ever be so—that anyone would ever do that for me. You-You said that you love me. I need to know… Did you mean it? Because it's okay if you don't. I-I mean…" _Ugh what do I mean?! I'm rambling like an idiot. _"I meant it. When I said that I loved you and I need to know if you love me. Of course, you can't even hear me right now, so I'm just going to have to repeat this anyway. And it never seems as heartfelt the second time you know—"

A voice coming from beside her stopped her.

"You talk too much."

Juliet turned her head to look at the form in the bed. Shawn was looking up at her with tired eyes and smiling weakly.

Juliet started crying yet again. But this time it was different. They were tears of joy.

**OooOooO**

**You didn't seriously think I was going to kill him, did you? I didn't have a single person tell me that they wanted him to die. I actually got threats about what would happen if I killed him. So I made the wise decision. :D**

**Next chapter will be epilogue-esque. Meaning it'll be the last ****. It's been a good run. I appreciate all of you readers/reviewers greatly.**

**The last chapter should be up soon. If I get enough reviews I **_**might **_**be able to get it up tomorrow, well later today I guess. No promises though! PLEASE REVIEW! **


	19. Done Crying

**Last chapter! :'(. I'm actually very sad about this. It's like… the end of an era. Oh well, I'll just have to start my next story immediately! Sorry, this would've been up sooner, but I wanted to make it as good as possible! Before I start, I'd like to thank everyone so much for reading. You all are amazing. Right now I'm giving everyone a mental hug. :D**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Psych**

**OooOooO**

It had been a week since Shawn was discharged from the hospital, where he stayed for two weeks. Thanks to Robert Madison, he was suffering from three broken ribs, a fractured nose, and a bruised kidney. Several of the gashes caused by the metal pipes required stitches. Not to mention the bullet, which nicked his appendix and small intestine.

Still, Shawn was as perky as ever. By the time he was discharged, Shawn had 87 new facebook friends, and was godfather to the son of one of his nurses.

Informing his dad about Mathew's death was the hard part. Henry was more upset than Shawn could ever be. After forcing himself to forget about his personal connection to the case, he was put at ease having put the man who killed his dad's partner behind bars.

Juliet was the one having problems.

No matter what Shawn or anyone else said, she couldn't shake the guilt that she'd been feeling for the past three weeks. _Me. They wanted me. But no. They took Shawn. I let them take Shawn! And he almost died. What do I end up with? A lousy cut on the arm. I don't deserve him. I don't deserve Shawn, or my job, or anything. _She hadn't seen or talked to Shawn since the day he came out of the coma. While he had made several attempts at contacting her, Juliet couldn't stand talking to him. _He talks to me like nothing happened. Like everything is fine. But it's not. What if we had lost him? What if he died? Oh God, he could have died!_

Juliet walked into her apartment and slammed the door behind her. Tossing the keys on the counter, she spotted her voicemail machine beeping with a red light. Instinctively she knew who it was:

Jules! I've been trying to reach you since it was acceptable to wear leg warmers in public. Can we please… talk, or something? For my sake as well as Gus's. I mean, he knows that chocolate is my comfort food, but noooo. Apparently, putting chocolate bars in the microwave with the wrapper still on is a bad idea. Who knew? But according to him "Lamaze breathing is ineffective when half the office nearly burning down is a factor". I don't understand either. I think Nebraska did something to him. Oh well. Call me! 

Just the sound of his voice brought a smile to her face and pain to her heart. Before her internal conflict was able to ensue, another message started playing, this time with a much different tone:

Juliet! It's Shawn! I need you to pick up! This is an emergency! Please, please Jules! I need you, like ASAP! Get to the Psych office quick! It's life or death!

Juliet's heart stopped. _Oh God. He's torn his stitches. He's bleeding out! He's dying! Oh God! This is my fault! I have to get over there. I have to save him! _She leaned over and checked the time of the message. _8:42. That's seven minutes ago! _Grabbing her keys, she sprinted out of her apartment.

OooOooO

The psych office was dark from the outside. The surrounding area was practically deserted, most likely due to the time. Juliet made her way to the door quickly, though she was terrified of what she would find.

Inside the office was dark as well. The only light was emanating from the flat screen on the wall.

"Shawn?" Juliet called out apprehensively.

No reply.

Juliet made her way to the couch in front of the television slowly.

"Shawn?"

Silence.

What she saw shocked her.

Shawn was sitting on the couch, earphones in, playing Pac-man on a black and white gameboy.

"SHAWN!" Juliet yelled. This got his attention.

"Jules! You scared the heck out of me! What took you so long?"

Juliet just stared at him. After what seemed like minutes, she spoke.

"You said it was life or death…" Her voice was filled with both relief and anger.

"It is!" Shawn said defensively. "My dad has been calling every fifteen minutes to check in on me. Pretty soon, I'll be hassled to death. That is, if you don't step in." Shawn's face was so serious she almost believed him. After a few more seconds of silence, however, Shawn gave in to the smile that had been creeping onto his face.

Juliet shook her head and started walking to the door.

"Jules, wait!" Shawn chased (more like wobbled) over to her and grabbed her arm. "You weren't returning my calls. I knew this would get you to come. I'm sorry. I just… I needed to see you." This time he was sincere. Just about as sincere as Juliet had ever seen him.

"I'm sorry Shawn. I-I have to go."

Juliet hurried towards the exit, leaving Shawn helpless to catch up to her. Shawn spoke again as Juliet's hand touched the doorknob.

"But you said you wouldn't leave me." She stopped halfway through turning the knob. "You said you weren't going anywhere."

She let go of the doorknob completely. Juliet turned to make eye contact with Shawn, immediately wishing she hadn't. The sadness in his eyes broke her already hurting heart.

"I-" _What am I supposed to say? I'm sorry? I'm sorry I almost got you killed and then completely ignored you for weeks? _

"I can't."

"You can't what? What Juliet? I just don't understand. One moment you're sitting at my bedside, spilling your soul. Telling me that you love me. And now, now you won't talk to me. You won't return my calls. Did I do something wrong? Did I-" Shawn's voice broke off. He closed his eyes and turned his face to the floor, as if continuing to speak was just too painful.

"No. Of course you didn't Shawn." Juliet walked to him. "Shawn?" She tried to grab his hand, but Shawn pulled away. He just shook his head.

Feeling helpless, Juliet did the only thing she could think to do. Taking his face in her hands, she kissed him. She poured all of her emotions into that kiss. After a moment of shocked hesitation she felt him kiss her back. When the broke apart she kept his face in her hands.

"You didn't do a thing." Juliet could hear her voice getting thick with tears. "It's just… I don't know how to register all of this. I don't know how to not feel responsible for what happened to you. We almost lost you and it was my fault. I don't know what I would have done-" She paused for a moment, blinking back tears. She removed her hands from Shawn's face to wipe her eyes. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't woken up."

Shawn simply looked at her for a moment before pulling her into a tight embrace. Juliet threw her arms around his neck and held on for dear life.

"I'm here Jules. We made it. I can tell you it isn't your fault but you won't believe me. The fact of that matter is that we're both alive. We both made it. It doesn't matter what could have happened. I'm still alive and I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going anywhere because I love you Jules." Shawn spoke into her ear.

Finally done crying, Juliet said, "I love you too, Shawn. And I'm not going anywhere either."

Somewhere in the background the phone started ringing. Shawn checked his watch over Juliet's shoulder, the two still embraced.

"That would be my dad. I told you it was life or death."

**OooOooO**

**Let's close this story out by reviewing, shall we?**

**Thank you all again so much for reading! You'll be hearing from me again soon enough! **


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